If Only We Could End This - REUPLOAD
by i can't handle change
Summary: In a world where two Clans are at war, led by leaders who share blood, a young tom by the name of Kestrelsight becomes deputy of WhisperClan. A she-cat around the same age is part of a peace based group, set on ending the war. These two cats have completely different views. What will happen when they meet? Still a WIP, just reuploading with some edits
1. WhisperClan Allegiances

WhisperClan Allegiances

Leader: Adderstar- tom with short dark tabby fur and yellow eyes.

Deputy: Kestrelsight- tom with dusky brown fur and blue eyes.

Apprentice: Lightningpaw

Medicine Cat: Aspenleaf- she-cat with bright orange tabby fur and yellow eyes.

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Shrewpaw- tom with short creamy white fur and amber eyes.

Warriors: Stormbird- tom with thick gray tabby fur and green eyes.

Timbertail- tom with fluffy pale brown fur and dark yellow eyes.

Owlwing- she-cat with dark brown fur and yellow eyes.

Smokewhisper- tuxedo tom with blue eyes.

Apprentice: Hazelpaw

Amberfoot- tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes and a solid orange left front paw.

Breezewhisper- light brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes.

Apprentice: Ravenpaw

Twigmouse- tom with short brown tabby fur and amber eyes.

Whitemask- tom with very dark brown fur, yellow eyes, and a large white splash on his face.

Apprentice: Nettlepaw

Scorchear- she-cat with dark ginger fur and blue eyes.

Jaggedpad- black tom with amber eyes.

Harespots- white tom with spotted fur and amber eyes.

Tawnygorse- cream colored she-cat with amber eyes.

Mossheart- black she-cat with a brown underbelly and pale yellow eyes.

Crookedsong- A white tom with green eyes and a raspy voice. Sometimes suffers from breathing problems.

Apprentices: Ravenpaw- small tom with dark grey fur and green eyes

Hazelpaw- she-cat with dusty brown fur and blue eyes

Nettlepaw- tom with short brown fur and blue eyes

Lightningpaw- fluffy sandy colored she-cat with icy blue eyes.

Queens: Hailfrost- pale silver tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

Poppyclaw- tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes. Mother of Twigmouse's kits: Sagekit (dilute tortoiseshell she-kit), Wolfkit (blue tabby tom), and Copperkit (dark red tabby tom)

Elders: Barktooth- pale brown tom with blind green eyes and patches of fur missing. Oldest cat in the Clan.

Sweetwillow- once pretty silver tabby she-cat with soft blue eyes. 


	2. SwampClan Allegiances

SwampClan Allegiances:

Leader: Pikestar - pale brown tabby and white tom with dark blue eyes.

Deputy: Volestep - Light gray tom with darker spots and amber eyes.

Apprentice: Ryepaw

Medicine Cat: Rowantail - Cinnamon and white she-cat with blue eyes.

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Nightpaw - Dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

Warriors: Suncloud - Red tabby she-cat with yellow eyes.

Grassberry - Blue and white tom with pale blue, almost grey, eyes

Browngorse - Dark brown tabby and white tom with amber eyes

Apprentice: Patchpaw

Raindust - Dark blue she-cat with green eyes

Hollowpuddle - dark grey tom with white underbelly and yellow eyes

Pinepad - red tabby tom with dark blue eyes

Apprentice: Mousepaw

Crowmist - tuxedo tom with blue, almost purple, eyes

Apprentice: Driftpaw

Blizzardtail - long-limbed white tom with pale green eyes

Mistwhisker - blue-grey she-cat with green eyes

Vervainclaw - fluffy gray tabby tom with pale green eyes

Websplash - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Shellfur - Silver chinchilla tom with green eyes

Ivyshine - Cream tabby she-cat with deep copper eyes

Boulderstrike - dark cream tabby tom with golden eyes

Apprentices: Ryepaw - light brown tabby and white tom with bright blue eyes

Driftpaw - brown tabby tom with green-grey eyes

Patchpaw - dilute tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Mousepaw - brown tabby she-cat with vivid aqua eyes

Queens: Bluesand - Pale blue she-cat with yellow eyes. Mother of Browngorse's kits, Goosekit and Shadekit

Pebblepool - Silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Elders: Sneezetooth - ragged white tom with yellow eyes

Maplebird - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes and messy, unkempt fur


	3. Prologue

Once, many moons back, although many, many seasons after the reign of the legendary Firestar, the four Clans were merged into two. SwampClan, made up of the remains of ShadowClan and RiverClan, and WhisperClan, made up of the remains of ThunderClan and WindClan. The two Clans were at war with each other. There were battles constantly, many cats died, and the warriors fought to kill. They cared not about the survival of the other Clan, only for themselves. The Warrior Code was different as well, many cats didn't acknowledge it. Warriors were killed all the time, and often times StarClan was ignored, or even worse, forgotten. The medicine cats stopped visiting the Moonpool, as their code no longer applied. They could have mates and kits as well, so as to keep the Clans populated. Their main purpose though, was to heal. Gatherings no longer happened at the full moon.

This war was brought on when a SwampClan cat raided and stole kits from the WhisperClan camp. They were his, he claimed. The mother of the kits, a cat named Pearstem, denied the claims, and lunged at the tom. The kits _were_ in fact his, although they bore a strong resemblance to a WhisperClan tom. They fought, and in the end, Pearstem ended up dead. This tom had just killed the mother of his kits, and so WhisperClan killed him. This angered SwampClan, and they retaliated.

Eventually, WhisperClan had stolen one of the two kits back. This cat, Rushkit, grew into a fine warrior of WhisperClan. SwampClan, still angry over what happened, killed all of the members of his bloodline, his mate, his kits.. Except one. This remaining kit was hidden and raised by a trusted lclanmate once Rushclaw, then Rushkit, found out what was happening. This kit later grew up to be Adderstar, the leader of WhisperClan. Pearstem's other kit, in SwampClan, also grew up to have a mate and kits. Around the same time as Rushclaw, his brother Whitesplash, also had kits of his own. One of his kits, Pikelight, became leader of SwampClan, now Pikestar. These two cats, cousins, are still at war with each other, not knowing that they are related. Adderstar was never told that Rushclaw was his father, and Pikestar was always told he had no family other than his littermates. But this story does not begin with the leaders of these clans.. No, our story begins in WhisperClan, focusing around a young warrior, a tom by the name of Kestrelsight...

"SwampClan scum!" A brown and white tabby tom yowled, raking his claws down the side of his opponent; a thin SwampClan warrior, a white tom whose pelt was now stained with red streaks. The white tom ran off, screeching in pain.

"Great job, Kestrelsight! You really showed him!" The brown tom turned to see a grey she-cat, her pelt ragged and a bit bloody.

"Thanks, Finchsky." He called back to her, his eyes widening as a broad-shouldered tabby rushed up behind her. "Watch ou-" His warning was cut off by a loud shriek. The next thing he knew, the tabby had his claws in his denmate's neck.

"Great job, Kestrelsight!" The tabby mimicked the praise the she-cat had given him only moments before. "You sure were useful as you sat back and watched.. Now it's your turn!" The tabby snarled, lunging at the tom. They wrestled on the ground for a few moments, hissing and spitting, before a yowl broke them apart.

"Pinepad, get off him! This battle is over. We've won, now let him go." The stern voice of a she-cat called out. The tabby let go of Kestrelsight, and snarled, raking his claws over the brown tom's muzzle before stalking off in the direction of SwampClan's camp.

Kestrelsight looked up at his rescuer, a SwampClan she-cat with a blue-gray pelt. Her eyes were green and held a concerned look. He snorted, was this she-cat from the enemy's Clan concerned about him? Maybe she was one of the few against the war. There were a few he knew of in WhisperClan, and this she-cat seemed to fit right along with them. She said nothing, but turned and ran off towards her camp. Kesrelflight blinked a few times before getting up and limping back to camp. His back right leg was bleeding pretty bad, and scratches covered his pelt.

Once he returned to camp and had his wounds treated, he heard a call. "Cats of WhisperClan! Our deputy, Halfpelt was killed in battle." Kestrelsight saw a black and white pelt laying under the moonlit camp. Halfpelt was pretty old, and Kestrelsight expected this would happen eventually. What he didn't expect were the next words from Adderstar's mouth. "I say these words over the body of Halfpelt, so that he may hear and approve my choice. Kestrelsight will be the new deputy!"

Kestrelsight's eyes widened. "M-me? But, Adderstar, I haven't had an apprentice or anything, I can't possible be deputy!" He protested. He was a young cat, and nowhere near ready for such an important position.

Adderstar paused, as if lost in thought. "Yes, Kestrelsight. I saw how you performed in today's battle, and I know you'd make a great deputy. Your lack of an apprentice is fine, I'll give you one of Breezewhisper's kits when they're old enough."

"I accept your offer, Adderstar." Kestrelsight said, his voice still uncertain. What else could he do? To decline the position of deputy would seem disrespectful, or even worse, seen as treason. Serving your Clan was your greatest honor, and Kestrelsight wasn't going to take the risk of making a mistake.

"Then from this day on, Kestrelsight will be the deputy of WhisperClan." The leader's voice rang out. Cats began chanting Kestrelsight's name, but he wasn't nearly as confident in his abilities as his clanmates were.


	4. Chapter 1

"Owlwing, I need you on a border patrol. Take Amberfoot and Ravenpaw with you." Kestrelsight called out to the she-cat. He was starting to get used to his duties as deputy, and the rest of the Clan was beginning to respect him a bit more. The dark brown she-cat nodded and trotted off to meet with the rest of the patrol members.

A sand colored ball of fluff bounced over to Kestrelsight. "Can we go on a border patrol too?" His apprentice, Lightningpaw, asked eagerly.

"After I organize a hunting patrol." Kestrelsight replied, gazing around the camp to see who was there. "Scorchear, can you take Jaggedpad and Mossheart and go hunting?" He called out to the colorpoint she-cat. She nodded, and went off to round-up the other two cats.

"Can we go on patrol _now?_ " Lightningpaw asked.

Kestrelsight purred. "Sure." As his apprentice ran off out of camp he called after her, "Along the pine forest border, Owlwing has a patrol on the other side!" He hoped his energetic apprentice had heard him.

He followed Lightningpaw's scent trail, which, to his delight, lead to the forest border as planned. It was a small patrol, being just the two of them but Kestrelsight wasn't worried. The forest border was usually fairly quiet. Plus, the experience would be good for Lightningpaw. Usually the young she-cat had a problem holding her tongue, especially around her fellow apprentices. She was a bit of a show-off, trying to prove that she was the bravest of them all.

Lightningpaw turned to her mentor, her blue eyes wide and her ears pricked. "I smell SwampClan!" She hissed.

Kestrelsight tasted the air, checking for himself. "I do too, but it's faint. They probably haven't sent out a border patrol yet, it all smells like last night's rain. Although," he paused, checking for signs of an oncoming patrol, just in case. "We may want to head back before they show up. You know how protective they are, they'll probably accuse us of trespassing anyways."

As if on cue, a patrol of cats sauntered up to the border. "Hey, make sure you're on your side of the border!" One of them, a dark grey tom hissed. His fur was bristling and he looked as if he was about to strike at any given second.

"I can assure you we haven't, Hollowpuddle. Though I'd watch your step, you're getting awfully close there." Kestrelsight remarked, a growl rising in his throat. His ears flattened and his tail lashed wildly from side to side. _How dare they accuse us like that?_

The tom lashed his tail angrily and dig his claws into the soil below. Kestrelsight felt Lightningpaw tense next to him, when he turned to glance at her, her sandy fur was bushed up and she looked utterly terrified. He reassuringly rested the tip of his tail on her back.

"Enough, Hollowpuddle." A blue-grey she-cat turned to her clanmate from where she had inspected the scent markers. "Their markers are fine, leave them be. We don't want to start any fights.."

Hollowpuddle mumbled something under his breath, and Kestrelsight strained his ears to listen, and from what he could make out, it sounded like "mouse-hearted peace advocate.." From the look of the she-cat, it must have bothered her, as her tail twitched irritably.

As Hollowpuddle turned and stalked back to camp, Kestrelsight dipped his head respectfully to the she-cat. He had seen her before, but he couldn't quite place where. "Thank you.. uh," He paused, as if asking for her name.

"Mistwhisker" She replied. Was that a hint of a purr he detected in her voice? She seemed completely fine with giving this information to a cat from an enemy Clan. She turned and padded off after her clanmate without another word to him.

"Mistwhisker.." The name felt odd on Kestrelsight's tongue, but at the same time, felt strangely familiar.

"Do you know her?" Lightningpaw asked, snapping Kestrelsight's attention back to her. The sandy apprentice's eyes glinted with mischeif.

"I think I've seen her around before, she seemed familiar. Don't get any ideas." The deputy said sternly. He didn't need his chatty apprentice going around mouthing off about how her mentor had something going on with a SwampClan cat. Even as a joke, it wouldn't be received well by anybody. Cross-Clan interactions were definitely frowned upon, and taking a mate from the other Clan was punishable by death. In fact, really anything that could be considered "treason" could get you exiled, or in severe cases, killed. Stakes were high, and even the littlest things were found as reasons to go into battle nowadays.

"She seemed weird." The apprentice concluded after a moment or two, snapping Kestrelsight out of his thoughts. He nodded. _A peace advocate? Is she against the war? That would make sense.. But why? This war needed to be fought, you can't win unless you fight.._ The deputy's thoughts were muddled. However, he was thankful that she stopped a skirmish from happening, he didn't need Lightningpaw involved in a fight yet, she was still quite young and she had traces of kit-fluff behind her ears still.  
"Let's just head back to camp. You did well today." Kestrelsight said, changing the subject. He had things more important than SwampClan she-cats to worry about. Lightningpaw bounded ahead of him, still full of excitement. The confrontation at the border must not have dampened her spirits too much.


	5. Chapter 2

Kestrelsight padded into camp after his apprentice. He had to pick up his pace to catch up with her.

"Are you going to tell Adderstar about SwampClan?" Lightningpaw asked, her blue eyes wide.

The deputy shook his head. "No, this isn't anything out of the ordinary. I was just hoping it could've been avoided.." He rested his tail gently on Lightningpaw's back. "Go get some prey and rest for a bit. I'll take you out hunting later if you'd like.

The apprentice nodded and padded off towards the fresh-kill pile.

A colorpoint she-cat padded over to Kestrelsight. "How was the patrol?" She asked.

Kestrelsight paused, confused for a moment. _Why would Scorchear care how the patrol went? Maybe she's just being friendly?_ He thought. "It was okay. SwampClan accused us of trespassing, though that's expected from them."

"Was there a fight?" Scorchear's blue eyes held a hint of concern.

"Surprisingly not. Some SwampClan she-cat on the patrol broke it up." Kestrelsight thought it was best to leave out her name.

"Really?" A hint of disbelief crept into the she-cat's voice. "Did you get her name? If she's part of that group rebelling against the war we could turn her in to Pikestar.." Her eyes shone with a hint of malice.

A feeling a dread rose inside of Kestrelsight. He'd heard what happened to those cats, the Peace Union they called themselves. Usually they're held prisoner for a while, to try to obtain information from them. If that doesn't work, they're killed. It's a public execution. "No, I didn't catch her name." He lied. _Why?_ He scolded himself. _The right thing to do would've been to turn her in! If anyone finds out I do know her name and didn't report it, I could be punished!_

Scorchear glanced around. "Ah.. Well, I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. See you later, Kestrelsight!" She called with a purr, padding away.

 _She's been oddly friendly towards me since I became deputy.._ Kestrelsight thought to himself. Ignoring it, he sat down and began to groom his pelt.

Time passed, and Kestrelsight woke up as the sun was setting by the voice of his apprentice.

"Kestrelsight! Wake up, you lazy furball!" She called teasingly. A few other cats who had to go on the dawn patrol later grumbled in the den.

 _Mouse-dung! I was going to take Lightningpaw hunting, wasn't I..?_ He remembered. He stood up, yawned, and stretched.

"Hunting?" He asked her, already knowing the answer. Lightningpaw nodded. "Let's try around the Sky Oak." He said, referring to a very large tree in their territory. Lightningpaw nodded and darted off towards it. Kestrelsight followed, yawning once again. "How does she have so much energy?" He mumbled to himself.

* * *

Mistwhisker quickened her pace to catch up to Hollowpuddle. The tom's tail was still lashing angrily.

"I ought to have you reported." He said as she reached his side.

"For what?" She pressed. "Stopping a fight before it happened? We don't need any of our cats injured. There's probably a battle coming up soon.. You should thank me." Her voice had a lighthearted tone. Mistwhisker was part of the Peace Union, a group of cats wanting to end the war peacefully. They weren't only in SwampClan either. She knew some WhisperClan cats in the group as well. She was well aware of the punishment for being caught, but she knew she couldn't stand by and let so many cats get killed.

"Whatever.. Let's just get back to camp.." The tom muttered, clearly annoyed.

As the pair returned to camp, Mistwhisker grabbed a squirrel off the fresh-kill pile and headed to the Warriors' den. She sat down, her mind whirling with thoughts.

 _Why did I stop that skirmish? It would've been small, I really risked giving myself away.. And that WhisperClan tom.. He seemed familiar.. Do I know him from somewhere? He couldn't be part of the Peace Union, I know that much.._ She thought back to a battle a few moons ago. _That's right!_ She realized, this wasn't the first time she had saved his pelt. Pinepad was attacking him, and she stepped in, the WhisperClan cat clearly beaten. Twice I've saved him, and he's from another Clan.. I don't even know his name!

A voice interrupted her thoughts. "You gonna eat that?"

Mistwhisker looked up to see a friend of hers, Vervainclaw. His whiskers were twitching with amusement.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"The squirrel, mouse-brain!" He purred good-naturedly.

She had completely forgotten about the squirrel! "Oh! Yeah, you want to share it with me?" She asked.

He nodded and took his place next to her. "You okay? I was standing there for a while. I'm surprised you didn't notice me. Must've been really out, huh?"

"Something like that, yeah.." Mistwhisker sighed.

"Care to talk about it at all?" The fluffy gray tom sounded concernced, and his green eyes were wide.  
"Hollowpuddle's onto me." Mistwhisker said quietly, gazing around the den to double check that it was empty. "He threatened to report me to Pikestar. I tried to play it off like a more strategic move, that we needed all our warriors in top condition for the next battle. He didn't have anything else to say after that, but I'm sure he'll be keeping an eye on me for a while"

Vervainclaw looked around nervously. "Do you want me to tell the others that you won't be coming to the next meeting? It might be best to lie low for a while.."  
Mistwhisker sighed. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Hollowpuddle won't hesitate if he finds evidence of me sneaking out in the middle of the night."

The gray tom rested his tail on her back. "I'm sure everything will be okay, we'll make it through this. Try not to worry too much."

"Thanks." She said. She pushed the remains of the squirrel towards Vervainclaw. "I've had all I want, you can finish this off."

Vervainclaw twitched his whiskers. "Thanks."


	6. Chapter 3

Kestrelsight pointed with his tail, nudging his apprentice. "Lightningpaw, look!" He hissed quietly. "See if you can catch it." The brown and white tabby tom was referring to a squirrel, scuttling a few tail-lengths away. Lightningpaw dropped into a hunting crouch and slowly crept after the squirrel. Suddenly, a loud crack was heard as the sand colored apprentice snapped a stick beneath her paws. The squirrel darted up a nearby oak tree.

"Mouse-dung." Lightningpaw sighed and plopped down.  
"It's alright, there'll be more. Let's keep moving." Kestrelsight nudged her to her paws.

The pair wandered on until it was just starting to get dark and then began to head back to camp. Kestrelsight snagged a good sized thrush, and Lightningpaw had managed to find another squirrel. She caught this one, showing excellent technique. Kestrelsight couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride in his apprentice's ability. He sat now, watching her creep up on a mouse. The small rodent sat by the base of a tree, grooming itself. Kestrelsight had given Lightningpaw the whole "mouse feels you before it hears you, rabbit hears you before it feels you" talk a thousand times over, he just hoped the young she-cat remembered it. It appeared that she did, because heartbeats later, she pounced, and with a clean bite killed it. She proudly dropped her catch at the deputy's paws.

"I did it!" Her blue eyes shone with excitement.

"You sure did, that was wonderful!" Kestrelsight purred. "Let's head back now though, I don't want you being too tired tomorrow." He glanced towards the sky, where the sun had completely disappeared and the moon now shone instead. He started padding towards camp with his thrush, beckoning Lightningpaw with his tail.

The two had just dropped their prey onto the fresh-kill pile when they heard Adderstar's yowl.

"Traitor!" The dark brown tabby tom had rushed out of his den and glared down into the clearing. One of the senior warriors, Stormbird was standing beside him. A hush fell among the Clan as they waited for their leader to explain his outburst. Instead, Adderstar leapt down from the Highrock and bowled a cream she-cat over. The she-cat, Tawnygorse, looked utterly terrified. Adderstar's yellow eyes burned with fury. Tawnygorse didn't speak a word as the leader dragged her by the scruff into the center of the clearing. Neither did anyone else. They already knew what was going on.

"Cats of WhisperClan!" Adderstar spoke again. Everyone's eyes were on him. "One of our very own clanmates is working against us." A hushed murmuring passed between the cats. "Tawnygorse." Adderstar spat her name as if it were poison. "You've been exposed as part of the rebel force working against the Clans. This is treason at its finest. This clan raised you, cared for you, provided for you. And _this_ is how you repay it in its time of need?" The leader raised a paw, claws unsheathed. "You have once chance to deny these claims and save yourself. If I find your defense unsatisfactory, the price for betraying your Clan, _your family_ , is your life. Start talking."

Tawnygorse's voice was hoarse as she spoke. "This war is _pointless_ , when will you all learn this? How much blood must be shed? How many bodies of your clanmates must fall lifeless to the ground before you realize? Can you even remember what you're fighting for at this point? I've lost _family_ to this battle. Have you forgotten my brother, Beetlewing? Gone. Murdered by SwampClan. Not just killed. Maimed. Tortured. You all saw what they did to him!" Her voice was high pitched with panic and distress now. "I can't stand to see that happen to another cat. Nobody deserves that. Nobody at all." She was rambling, and her words jumbled into a mess. Finally Adderstar had had enough, and with one swift motion, locked his teeth around her throat. The clearing was silent. Blood welled up at the wound, and the lifeless body of Tawnygorse fell to the ground with a dull thud.

"We're fighting to defend our _honor_." Adderstar spat at her. "Let this be a warning to the rest of you traitors." He sneered. "I know you're out there, and when I find you, your fate will be the same." He stalked off into his den. Nobody gathered to sit vigil for Tawnygorse.

Kestrelsight glanced towards the nursery, where Twigmouse sat beside his mate, Poppyclaw. Twigmouse was Tawnygorse's brother, and from the look on his face, he was recalling Beetlewing's death as well. He appeared to be in shock from the whole situation. Poppyclaw was comforting him as their three kits sat wide-eyed in the nursery entrance. One of them, Copperkit, let out an audible whimper. A few heads turned, but nobody said anything. It was normal for kits to react this way.

Kestrelsight thought back to Mistwhisker. If the SwampClan she-cat really _was_ part of the rebel group, this would be her fate if she was caught. He shuddered. No cat deserved this. The deputy understood that traitors must be punished, but not this severe. _Exile was enough, but murder? That's taking it too far.  
_ He was snapped out of his thoughts by Lightningpaw. "I'm glad we got that traitor gone." Kestrelsight stared at her in shock. "We don't need a soft cat like that, she'd get us nowhere in this war. We're better off without her." The apprentice said. Kestrelsight stood and watched as his apprentice padded away towards her denmates. The young cats spoke quietly, occasionally shooting glances at Tawnygorse's body. Her body would be left overnight, as a message to the other rebels in the Clan. In the morning, her body would be taken and dumped in the river. No burial for traitors.

Kestrelsight took a look towards the fresh-kill pile. He wasn't hungry anymore. The tabby tom padded off into the warriors' den and lied down. He stared at the wall of the den until he feel into a light, dreamless sleep.


End file.
